The Biblical View of the Cross

The Biblical View of the Cross

It was already prophesied in the Book of Law that, after the crucifixion, the cross would be publicly used within churches. Long ago, the Israelites went through the desert and bypassed the land of Edom. The people grew impatient along the way and spoke against God and against Moses. Then God’s wrath came upon them; He sent venomous snakes to bite the people of Israel, and many died. After hearing Moses’ prayer, however, God ordered him to make a bronze snake to deliver the Israelites.

Num. 21:8-9 『The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." So Moses made bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.』

The bronze snake itself had no power; it could not make the Israelites live. It was only God’s word that allowed the Israelites to live: "Anyone who is bitten can look at it [the bronze snake] and live." The Israelites burned incense to the bronze snake up to the time of King Hezekiah, falsely believing that the bronze snake had saved them.

2 Kings 18:4 『He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.)』

※"Nehushtan" means "a piece of bronze."The Israelites, who had been bitten by a snake, could live by looking at the bronze snake. This history is a shadow and reveals that mortal spirits, who were deceived by Satan, can live by looking at Jesus Christ—by His precious blood of sacrifice.

John 3:14 『"Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."』Just as the bronze snake had no power to give life, the cross itself, on which Jesus died, has no power to give us life. We can be saved only by the words of God—"The precious blood of Christ is the only thing that can give you life." The Israelites burned incense to the bronze snake for almost a thousand years after Moses. This abominable act is a shadow, the reality of which is seen in all of the people who worship the cross—a mere instrument of capital punishment—forgetting the power of Jesus’ precious blood, the power of the Passover. We must not set up any image to worship God, because God is spirit. The sacred law of the new covenant is the only way to worship God, and it is the true symbol of salvation.

Deut. 27:15 『Cursed is the man who carves an image or casts an idol—a thing detestable to the LORD, the work of the craftsman’s hands—and sets it up in secret.』

Jer. 10:3-5 『For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter. Like a scarecrow in a melon patch, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk.』

The cross is mere an idol and cannot give us salvation. It is a tree that is cut out of the forest and shaped by a craftsman’s chisel.

Worship of the Statue of Mary

The Catholic Church honors Mary as the Mother of Jesus, as "the Mother of God," praying in front of statues of Mary. On the surface, such a practice appears to be a good way to teach filial piety, but within such worship is hidden the scheme of the devil, who takes advantage of the human mentality.

Matt. 12:46-50 『While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you." He replied to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."』

Out of all of the creatures that He had created, Jesus chose a woman, Mary, to make Himself flesh, so that He might come to this earth. It is not Biblical to revere a mere woman, one of God’s creatures, claiming that she is the Mother of God—the Creator—simply because she bore Him. Actually, the practice of worshipping the image of Mary—followed by the Catholic Church—originated in the ancient Babylonian religion, not in the Early Church. In Babylon, there was a powerful king named Nimrod (Gen. 10:8) whose wife was named Semiramis. Because of her husband’s high position, Semiramis wielded great power. She claimed that when Nimrod died, he became the sun god. She named her son Tammuz and proclaimed him to be the reincarnation of Nimrod. Semiramis, the mother, was worshipped along with her child. Babylonian monuments depict the goddess Semiramis, holding her son, Tammuz, in her arms. This worship of "mother and child" spread to many other ancient countries who were under the influence of Babylon. In Germany, the goddess Hertha was depicted with her child in her arms, and Indian relics show the goddess Indrani carrying her child in her arms. In Egypt, the mother figure was referred to as Isis and her child as Horus. There are many statues and images of Isis, holding the infant Horus on her knee. This ancient, pagan religion spread to Rome, where it widely prevailed. These pagan customs infiltrated early Christianity, and the worship of the pagan goddess was reinterpreted as Mary holding the Baby Jesus. Thus, the Catholic Church’s worship of Mary originated in pagan idolatry, not from the Bible.

Cursed Is the Man Who Bows Down Before Idols

Lev. 26:1 『Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it.』Deut. 27:15 『Cursed is the man who carves an image or casts an idol─a thing detestable to the Lord, the work of the craftsman’s hands─and sets it up in secret.』

From the Biblical point of view, sculpted images of Mary are idols. Whoever erects them, so that they may be worshipped, will be eternally cursed by God and will never enter the kingdom of heaven.